


A Trip Down Memory Lane

by tea_petty



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M, Flashbacks, Memories, Spring Cleaning, reminscing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-13
Updated: 2019-12-13
Packaged: 2021-02-25 23:21:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,045
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21773626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tea_petty/pseuds/tea_petty
Summary: Jenna finds some old trinkets while spring cleaning.
Relationships: Apprentice/Julian Devorak
Kudos: 6





	A Trip Down Memory Lane

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted to my Tumblr; tea-petty
> 
> This was done for @asrasdarling featuring her Apprentice, Jenna.

Jenna sneezed and a cloud of dust erupted in her face. When it had settled, and Jenna had regained control of her faculties, she stooped over the box once more. The way the sun filtered in through the window revealed a whole world of tiny particles, refracting sunlight as they floated through the air and hovered about the box. While Jenna knew this was just how dust looked in light, she couldn’t help but admire the almost ethereal aura such an effect had on the box of junk. 

It must’ve been a similar aura, that drew people to eldritch relics and mystical tomes in fairytales. Here, bathed in sunlight and glittering like diamonds, Julian’s old box of junk resembled treasure – which is what Julian called it anyways, long before Jenna had happened upon it, dripping in the yellow of day.

Jenna picked up her feathered duster from where she’d set it on the floor beside the box and swept it across the inner surfaces of one middle-nook nestled in the grand mahogany bookshelves they had. When she was finished, the luster of the wood shone through again, reminding Jenna of rich chocolate. This would do nicely in displaying Julian’s ‘treasures’.

Stooping down to reach into the box, Jenna pulled out an oddly shaped item; what was a small, blunted hammer. The sort doctors carried around to test one’s reflexes, only instead of just the hammer, the little ornate display stand Julian had fashioned for it was fished out as well. 

Jenna couldn’t help but grin at the sight – she’d laughed openly when Julian had first showed her. Why on earth he needed to display an old medical tool he had no use for anymore, had been beyond her. Julian, who struggled to maintain his usual demeanor in the face of her unrelenting giggles, had flushed, obviously flustered.

“It was one of the first things I owned as a working physician! It’s…it’s sentimental!”

Sentimental indeed.

Jenna brought the item – stand and hammer – closer to her chest, nearly cradling it. The remaining traces of dust still tickled her nose and throat, but she could still almost hold on to the spiced scent of the tea Nadia served at the palace. When Jenna closed her eyes – she was almost there;

_They’d been going through a stroll in the garden of all things, Jenna clutching Julian’s arm because he’d offered – he’d always been a gentleman like that, of course._

_“So, how long have you been practicing, Doctor Devorak?”_

_Julian laughed, an easy, warm sound._

_“Please – ‘Julian’ is just fine, my dear. And it’ll be about eight years now.”_

_Jenna’s eyebrows flew up._

_“Eight? You…ah, pardon me, but you just look so young.”_

_Jenna flushed._

_“Oh, I’m not so old. I didn’t formally go through the licensing process, so I was able to get a jump on practicing.”_

_“Why didn’t you get your license?”_

_“Pirates.”_

_Jenna stared at him, not sure whether or not to take him seriously. Though the levity had not disappeared from his features, his voice had been resolved._

_The pair rounded the bend of a hedge, where there was a small courtyard within the garden’s green labyrinth._

_“So, if you haven’t a license, then you’re not a real doctor.”_

_Julian scoffed, and held his hand to his heart dramatically._

_“You wound me, fine lady.” His grasp slipped from Jenna as he reached to pluck a lavender bloom from a low hanging bough. He tucked it tenderly behind her ear, holding a tendril of hair away from her face, and Jenna knew she hadn’t seriously offended him. “But if you won’t believe my words, then perhaps I’ll just need to demonstrate. Please, take a seat.”_

_He gestured to the intricately carved, stone bench shaded by the same flowering tree he’d picked from. Jenna hadn’t even realized there was a bench until he’d gestured to it._

_“Oh, I um-“_

_“Nonsense my dear, if it’s proof you need, then it’s proof you’ll get. Please, sit.”_

_Jenna lowered herself onto the bench hesitantly, eyeing Julian as one hand dipped into his jacket pocket to procure a small hammer._

_“So how have you been feeling lately?”_

_“I’ve been well.”_

_“Been going in for your yearly check-ups?”_

_“I may have skipped a few,” Jenna admitted._

_Julian tsk’ed, a playful smile at his lips as he crouched at Jenna’s side. He raised the hammer slightly above her and paused._

_“Relax,” he soothed, “it won’t hurt a bit.”_

_He brought the hammer down laxedly at her knee, and her leg shot out below, ruffling the hem of her skirt as it did so. Jenna giggled at the ticklish sensation._

_“See? I told you it wouldn’t hurt a bit. Plus, your reflexes look to be in fine shape.”_

_Julian tucked the hammer away, back into his pocket and stood before offering Jenna a hand back up._

_“And now I know you’re a real doctor,” Jenna ventured shyly._

_Julian offered his arm again, which she readily accepted._

_“Exactly.”_

It had been the day she and Julian had met. What a silly way to make an acquaintance – that day, they’d barely exchanged names and then already he knew the state of her body just a little bit more intimately than most. That day had been almost two years ago today, and still, Jenna could be grateful that Julian had checked her reflexes and not her heart. She ran her fingers lovingly across the wood of the display – so perhaps Julian was right, and the hammer was sentimental. 

She set the display neatly on the shelf. 

Jenna reached into the box again, this time procuring something much smaller; a little, toy soldier. This one brought a wide grin to her face – she remembered where he’d picked up this as well. Most would assume it was a trinket from his childhood, but it was actually a gift that had come into his possession much more recently.

It had been a stormy day and

_again Jenna found herself with a firm hold on Julian’s arm. Through his heavy coat, and her own fleece-lined cloak, she could still feel the firmness of him against her – while keeping out the chill. Heads bent down to keep the rain out of their eyes, they’d scarcely noticed the young, buoyant shape running towards them until he’d stopped right in front of them._

_Jenna hadn’t seen the boy before, but Julian’s eyes had widened with recognition immediately._

_“Baden! What are you doing out here? You’ll catch your death!”_

_Baden puffed out his cheeks, small brow furrowing. Such a heavy expression on someone so young - Jenna had to bite back a laugh._

_“I had no choice Doctor Julian, you said you’d come around after you fixed me up, but you didn’t!”_

_Julian’s face softened considerably._

_“You’re right – I’m sorry about that. I’ve been busy and haven’t had the spare time to come down, though I should’ve.” His voice grew stern. “That doesn’t change the fact that you should be inside – really now, you’ll get sick.”_

_Jenna couldn’t help but marvel at him. For a man whose body temperature seemed to read ‘hot mess’ all the time, he sure could lay it on thick as a guardian figure._

_Baden scuffed his shoe at the ground petulantly._

_“Fine. But I had to give you something first.”_

_Fishing a hand into his trouser pockets, Baden rummaged around for a few moments before pulling out what Jenna could barely make out to be a human-looking figurine._

_Julian crouched down to the child’s height._

_“Now, what’s this?”_

_Baden’s face was as serious as the grave – or as serious as a face so young could broach the grave._

_“A token of my thanks.”_

_Julian smiled, flashing his dimples._

_“This is a fine toy you have – but I really don’t need any thanks.”_

_Baden shook his head._

_“Ma says you always say thank you,” he recited dutifully, saying ‘you’ to mean everyone._

_“Your mother is a smart woman. You know that?”_

_“I do, Dr. Julian,” Baden gave a short nod. “And she does too.”_

_Baden held the figure out expectantly, and Julian accepted._

_“Thank you, I’ll be sure to take good care of him.”_

_Baden nodded again, obviously appeased and a blonde curl dangling limply before his eyes, courtesy of the soddening rain._

_“Now, please – head inside.”_

_Baden obliged this time, turning on his heel and running with animation only children seemed able to employ._

_Julian slipped the figuring safely into one of the inside pockets of his jacket._

_He turned to Jenna then, and just stopped short of offering his arm again – Jenna was familiar enough with Julian now that she could often tell what he might be thinking before he dared act on it._

_Instead, Julian went and took both her hands in his. She was icy to the touch, her skin like marble despite the meager heat his own offered her._

_“Gods – you’re freezing.”_

_He rubbed them vigorously between his own, though the only heat that sparked was the pink spots high up on Jenna’s cheeks._

_“Let’s get you out of this rain now,” Julian’s eyes met hers, apologetic. One hand released hers to flit to her cheek, the softest of hummingbird touches._

_They wound up seeking shelter at a nearby pub, though Jenna was already bursting with the warmth by the time they arrived, both from Julian’s hand in hers, and the speed at which they raced through the rainy, Vesuvian streets._

Jenna was clutching the little figurine to her chest now – his hand-painted, golden armor still immaculate despite his age. The rest of the night had been a feverish blur of ale and longing. They hadn’t so much as kissed – not yet – but the air that seemed to pass between them seemed to be loaded with the notion that they both deeply, desperately wanted to.

She had expected that feeling to pass after the first time they’d kissed, but it hadn’t. Even thinking about him now, could manage to bring a fire to her heart and a blaze to her cheeks. 

Jenna placed the toy soldier gently on the shelf beside the display.

The last item in the box was heavier than it looked, and when Jenna finally hoisted it up, bearing much of the weight in her trembling forearms, it was with a pressed smile she revisited the memory clinging to it (after setting the object itself down, of course.)

It had been in the Flooded District – where seldom good things grow. She’d been Julian’s apprentice then, wanting to pick up a bit of medical knowledge, or if nothing else, just helplessly in love with her teacher.

She could still remember how it felt to be watching him, painted in moonlight as they tromped down the boardwalk, towards where the city opened up to the wharf.

_“Look at that,” Julian breathed, stopping suddenly._

_Jenna managed to stop, just inches away from face planting into his back. She looked to where he was looking – and where they had stopped – in the shadow of a massive ship._

_“It really brings back the memories.”_

_Jenna lifted her eyes to the man beside her._

_“What sorts of memories?”_

_His eyes seemed to flash, half opal, and pearlescent in their luster. Gods, a woman could fall in love with those lives._

_Correction – a woman_ fell _in love with those eyes._

_“C’mon!”_

_In the next moment, Julian had threaded his fingers through Jenna’s and was towing her up the ramp, onto the ship. When they reached the main deck, Julian twisted in her hold, twirling her in the process, and catching her dazzled form against him._

_“What do you think?”_

_“It’s –“ Jenna looked around. The world seemed so much bigger from up here, like she was looking out from a fishbowl, and realizing the sky bleeds into the ground, which bleeds into places one can’t possibly imagine or reach – but still, they know such places are there._

_“Yeah, I know,” he answered, knowing full well what she couldn’t say._

_Jenna reached for Julian’s arm as he moved to offer it, and they climbed the steps onto the upper deck._

_“This is my favorite place on the entire ship,” Julian declared. “You can see everything from up here. Even things you don’t know exist yet.”_

_He spread one arm out, splaying his fingers against the horizon._

_One arm wrapped around Jenna’s shoulders, and it was only when his warmth seared her against the wind that she realized it was cold outside. She shivered._

_Julian startled looking down at her, “I got a bit carried away, I’m sorry – you’re cold, aren’t you?”_

_“No,” Jenna lied through her teeth, willing her body to stay still._

_Her shivers dulled to a slight tremble._

_Julian was shrugging off his heavy overcoat in the next second and draping the heavy material over Jenna’s shoulders. The weight of it seemed to hold her against the cold._

_“You’re not cold?”_

_Julian grinned._

_“I must be used to it – I was sailing constantly for about three years – and with pirates, they didn’t give a damned if I were cold or not.”_

_“Oh.” Jenna went quiet. She wondered if maybe his time captive had made him so captivatingly cavalier? And was that facet of him bred from the same part of him that made Julian so abysmally aloof?_

_“It wasn’t so bad though – they treated me well enough. They couldn’t have the only doctor on board dying after all.” Julian flashed his teeth in a bawdy grin, and that’s how Jenna knew that she hadn’t in fact, touched a nerve. “I saw so much of the world during my time with them.”_

_Now they were walking again, descending the stairs to the lower deck area, and rounding the corner of what must’ve been the Captain’s quarters. The walls provided some shelter from the wind, which had picked up considerably._

_“From Nevivon to Praka, from Praka to lands of unfathomable names, I saw them.”_

_Jenna pressed herself closer against the wall of the structure, her fingers finding coarse hairs of rope and the large fishhooks caught on the netting – obviously made for prey much more formidable than she._

_Julian, caught up in his memories, stepped closer._

_“I saw it all,” he said again, “and I wish you could see it too.”_

_One of his hands reached up to rest at a hook – dull, rusted, and discolored a green tinge._

_“A new adventure?” Jenna breathed, his proximity leeching her breath._

_Still, Julian drew closer, his lips pulling again into a brief smile._

_“Exactly.”_

_Jenna’s mind reeled – forwards, backwards, trying to retrace their steps and find out how they’d gotten here. She couldn’t replicate the path exactly though, it had been as unseen and automatic, as natural as two magnets coming together. They themselves had neither decided nor asked for such a pull; it just was._

_Jenna swallowed._

_She was pretty sure they both knew what was coming next, anyhow._

_Jenna eyes went to the damp floorboards. The toes of Julian’s boots were close to the toes of her own. Jenna would have to lift her eyes soon, otherwise the moment would pass, cast away like a message in a bottle. Who knew where missed opportunities went?_

_Jenna looked up at Julian and no sooner had she done that, then he was kissing her. Jenna felt a rush of heat before her mind mercifully shorted out, and soon there was no thoughts in her head – just Julian’s warmth and the way she sat in his arms (which had since come to wrap tightly around her.) Tentatively, Jenna reached up to grasp at the front of Julian’s shirt, getting a fluttered feel of his skin, the wiry hairs at his chest, and the loose fabric of the garment he wore._

_“Uh –“ Jenna squeaked out, and then Julian pulled away, eyebrows raised._

Jenna startled as a pair of arms folded around her – the last of a thousand times, and the first of a million more. Julian’s nose nudged into the crook of her neck, his mop of red curls tickling her cheek.

“And what are you up to?”

His hands were knitted into one another just above her waist. 

“Cleaning up. I found a box of some of your old stuff and thought it might be nice if they saw the light of day,” Jenna gave him a teasing smile.

Julian looked at the shelves she’d filled with the display and the toy soldier thus far. When he looked to the hook on the final shelf, a wide grin spread at his face.

“Some of these hold rather intimate memories, don’t you think?”

Jenna flushed, but set the hook on the next open space at the shelf anyways. It rested against the back of the small, wooden cubicle easily, as if it were trying to prove what an obedient trinket it could be, now given the chance.

“No one else has to know that, and they are _good_ memories.”

Julian pursed his lips.

“That’s true, though,” he twisted Jenna in his arms so that now she was facing him, hands splayed at his chest. She caught the familiar mingling of fabric and flesh and it made her cheeks warm as vividly as they had that first night. “I think the real thing is much better – the now.”

He said the last part gently, the preamble to how his nose gently brushed at hers, skimming her cheek before he bent in to kiss her softly. It was the soft reminiscence she’d felt unpacking the box, and the intensity of his lips, she could feel, his scent – like cologne spiced with the scent of rum, she could smell, and his breath she could taste. In this kiss, was all the kisses they’d shared before, in every day they passed together, the years they had, plus this day. 

More somberly, the moment was there and gone, like the pappus of a dandelion. If she tried to reach for it, it would flit out of reach, and if she thought she’d caught it, she’d open up her hand only to find an empty palm.

Jenna slinked her arms up to wrap around his neck, clutching herself close to him.

Yes, she decided, aware of Julian with every nerve in her body, ‘now’ was nothing to turn your nose up at.


End file.
